She lost her appetite. She grew listless. Something didn’t seem right over the last few days with Szenja, a beloved 21-year-old polar bear at SeaWorld in San Diego.
聖地牙哥海洋世界裡倍受喜愛的21歲北極熊，Szenja，近來有些反常，她食慾盡失，變得無精打採。
Then, she died suddenly on Tuesday, 「a very difficult day for all of us,」 Al Garver, SeaWorld San Diego’s vice president of zoological operations, said in a statement.
不久後，Szenja在周二突然病逝，聖地牙哥海洋世界動物管理部副主管AI Garver,在聲明中說到，那對我們來說真的是非常艱難的一天。
「Szenja not only touched the hearts of those who have cared for her over the last two decades, but also the millions of guests who had the chance to see her in person.
Szenja的死訊不僅讓那些在過去20多年裡照料她的人悲不自勝，也讓那些親眼看過她的百萬遊客心痛不已。
「We’re proud to have been a part of her life and to know that she inspired people from around the world to want to protect polar bears in the wild.」
我們為曾經出現在她的生命裡而感到驕傲，也為她曾經激勵了世界範圍的人們去保護野生北極熊而感到驕傲。
A necropsy will help determine why Szenja died, but animal activists think they already know.
屍檢能夠驗明Szenja的死因，但是動物保護者說他們已經知道了原因。
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals says that Szenja died because SeaWorld sent her 「best friend」 — another female polar bear named Snowflake — away to the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium for a breeding visit in late February.
善待動物組織聲稱，Szenja的死因是由於二月末，海洋世界將她的夥伴，一頭叫雪花的母熊，送到了匹茲堡動物園及PPG水族館進行繁殖。
The two bears had lived together at SeaWorld for 20 years.
這兩頭熊已經在一起生活了20多年了。
「Szenja died of a broken heart,」 Tracy Reiman, PETA executive vice president, told the San Diego Union-Tribune. 「After losing her companion of 20 years when SeaWorld shipped Snowflake to the Pittsburgh Zoo in order to breed more miserable polar bears, Szenja did what anyone would do when they lose all hope, she gave up.」
善待動物組副主席特蕾西.雷曼在聖地牙哥聯合論壇報中說,Szenja死於悲傷過度。當20多年的夥伴雪花被送掉匹茲堡動物園進行繁殖活動後，正如任何人在失去希望後會做的那樣，Szenja喪失了繼續生活的欲望。
PETA had quickly objected when SeaWorld announced plans to move Snowflake to Pennsylvania.
當海洋世界宣布將要把雪花送到賓夕法尼亞時，善待動物組織就馬上反對。
According to the Tribune, PETA president Ingrid Newkirk sent a letter to SeaWorld CEO Joel Manby that the move would leave Szenja 「sad and alone.」
據聯合論壇報報導，善待動物組織的主席英格麗.紐柯克曾致信海洋世界的執行長約爾·孟比說，雪花的離去會讓Szenja處於悲傷孤獨之中。
「Snowflake and Szenja have already been deprived of everything that’s natural and important to them,」 Newkirk wrote. 「Please do not add to their suffering and sentence more polar bears to a dismal fate by moving forward with this ill-conceived plan.」
紐柯克回信道，我們已經剝奪了雪花和Szenja的一切——包括她們的天性以及其他對她們重要的東西。請不要再加劇她們的痛苦了，不要再用這種拙劣的計劃來讓更多的北極熊遭受悲慘的命運了。
More than 56,000 people signed an online Care2 petition asking SeaWorld to not separate the 「polar bear best friends.」
超過五萬六千名民眾遞交了網上聯名請願書，請求海洋世界不要拆散這對「北極熊姐妹花」。
SeaWorld explained its participation in the Association of Zoo & Aquariums (AZA) Species Survival Plan, a global breeding program.
海洋世界解釋說，這是為了支持動物園及海洋館聯合物種保護計劃(SSP)，一個世界性的物種繁衍項目。
「The SSP is a program developed in 1981 by the AZA to help ensure the survival of selected species in zoos and aquariums, most of which are threatened or endangered in the wild,」 SeaWorld said in a statement.
海洋世界在聲明中說，SSP是AZA於1981年設立的項目，旨在確保那些從動物園以及海洋館中選定的瀕危野生動物不會滅絕。
「The polar bear population in the wild is continuing to dwindle, and since 2008, the polar bear has been listed as 『threatened』 on the Endangered Species List by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.」
野生北極熊數量正在持續減少，自2008年開始，北極熊已經被列為美國野生動物服務部瀕危物種表中的「極危」一欄。
Polar bears typically have a life expectancy of 15 to 18 years in the wild, though some can live as long as 20 to 30 years, SeaWorld said, citing Polar Bears International.
海洋世界援引北極熊國際保護中心的文獻說，野生北極熊平均有15到18年的壽命，有些甚至能活到20到30歲。
Szenja lived nearly her entire life at SeaWorld. She was born at the Wuppertal Zoo in Germany in October 1995 and two years later was moved to SeaWorld’s Wild Arctic exhibit.
Szenja在海洋世界度過了她的一生。1995年十月，Szenja在德國的伍珀塔爾動物園出生，兩年後被送往海洋世界的野外北極展覽。
In a news release, SeaWorld said Szenja was an ambassador for arctic animals and raised awareness of polar bears for the Wild Artctic’s nearly 50 million guests.
在一則新聞中，海洋世界聲稱Szenja是北極動物的大使，她增強了來野外北極展覽參觀過的近5000萬遊客對北極熊的保護意識。
She was also used for science, participating in studies on polar bear hearing sensitivity, social habits and reproductive hormones.
她同樣也被用於科學研究，參與了關於北極熊聽力敏感度、社交習慣以及生殖激素的科研項目。
「Most polar bears are solitary, but there are exceptions,」 Sharanya Prasad, Care2’s campaigns strategies manager, told NBC 7 in San Diego in March after the two bears were separated.「Sometimes, wild polar bears form relationships that can last for years. The state of captivity may have created an even stronger bond between Snowflake and Szenja.」
三月份，在兩頭北極熊被分開後，聯名活動的戰略經理普拉薩德在聖地牙哥NBC 7的採訪中說到，大部分的北極熊都是獨行俠，但也有些例外。有時，野生北極熊之間能建立起非常長久的情誼，而在封閉式養育下長大的雪花和Szenja有著更加深厚的情感。
（編輯：何瑩瑩）